There are bagels and then there are bagels….

On a Tuesday, in a half-full subway car I was seated next to a scholarly, older Jewish man. As frequently occurs, a musician boarded to play a mariachi-style song in Spanish. My seatmate quipped “oh I was just thinking of that song”. I’d noticed the man early into the 30 minute subway ride because he ate not one but two poppy seed bagels….. with nothing on them. Normally this type behavior is a red flag indicating crazy guy but he seemed to enjoy them.

I carefully pointed out his egregious behavior and asked if he had any places to recommend. He paused and said “No not really. What you really need is a slight hardness to the crust but a soft inside. Don’t fall for those places that are basically selling bread with a hole in it. Also, look out for those selling poppy seed bagels with like four poppy seeds on them.” He then went on to make a solid point “New Yorkers have opinions on three things: Pizza, Chinese Foods and Bagels”. As I did a mental tally of the other things New Yorkers care about, I realized he had mentioned the three most important. With that he got off at his stop (Broadway-Lafayette).

The next day, I stopped by Bagel Factory in Park Slope to pick up a bountiful bagel. Hopefully this one meets his stringent criteria.

Post navigation

3 comments on “There are bagels and then there are bagels….”

With bagels the only question is if they’re boiled or not. Only boiled ones should be considered real, but unfortunately these days many places choose the easy way and real bagels are hard to find.
I recommend “Russ and Daughters” in Manhattan. Worth the trip! 🙂